Topstep: are bots allowed? 2026 rules

The short answer

Status: allowed with conditions. Topstep doesn't merely tolerate bots: the help center describes an official API access, "TopstepX API Access", powered by ProjectX. Its FAQ states that automated strategies and custom bots are allowed via the TopstepX / ProjectX API, "subject to standard platform rules and our prohibition on highfrequency trading (HFT)". The conditions to remember:

• a paid API subscription, separate from the Topstep subscription;
• a bot that you run from your personal device (VPS, VPN and remote servers prohibited for placing orders);
• no Live Funded account to date: it is excluded from the API and the trade copier;
• no exploitation of the simulator, no high-frequency trading.

What the official sources say

The "TopstepX API Access" page (Topstep help center, read on October 12, 2026) presents the API as a way to build automated strategies and connect third-party tools to your TopstepX account. It specifies that an active Topstep account is required, that there is no sandbox environment (you have to test on a Practice account) and that Topstep offers no programming support. It also states that Topstep and ProjectX don't affiliate with, endorse or support the external vendors that offer API integrations: using them is at your own risk.

The "Prohibited Conduct" page lists "unfair technology" among the prohibited behaviors: using software, AI, ultra-fast systems or mass data entry to gain an unfair advantage. It also lists hedging between accounts, account stacking, coordinated trading with third parties and the use of VPNs or proxies. The possible penalties range from a warning to permanent closure, with payout denial or delay, reviewed case by case depending on severity and history.

The terms of use (section 27) prohibit the use of software, AI, ultra-fast systems or mass data entry that could manipulate or abuse the platform, as well as "short term or high frequency trades" carried out for that purpose. They also prohibit (section 28) any VPN or VPS on accounts, with the risk of account closure and loss of profits.

Allowed and prohibited

Allowed:

• a custom bot, coded by you, via the TopstepX / ProjectX API (REST or WebSocket, with languages such as Python, Java, .NET or JavaScript);
• the use of third-party tools built by others that connect to the API (without coding, by entering your credentials), at your own risk: Topstep and ProjectX neither endorse nor support them;
• the trade copier built into TopstepX, on Trading Combine and Express Funded accounts;
• a private server for research and backtesting, storing historical data, logging and analytics or a read-only dashboard, provided it doesn't place, modify or cancel any order.

Prohibited:

• high-frequency trading (HFT), explicitly cited in the API FAQ;
• VPS, VPN and remote servers for executing orders: according to the API page, all trading activity must come from your personal device, and a server must not route or relay orders on your behalf either;
• exploiting the simulator: scalping algorithms designed to profit from unrealistic fills, hundreds of rapid trades to exploit queue position, very tight brackets or auto-breakeven to take advantage of favorable fills;
• hedging between accounts, account stacking and coordinated trading with third parties;
• any bot on a Live Funded account, to date ("automated strategies are not possible at this time").

Price and accounts covered

API access costs $29 per month. Topstep traders get 50% off with the code "topstep", i.e. $14.50 per month, with no end date according to the help page. Billing is separate from Topstep's (it appears under the name "Sim2Funded Solutions"). One subscription and one key cover all eligible accounts linked to your ProjectX Dashboard profile.

The API page doesn't list the eligible account types: it requires an active Topstep account and only excludes Live Funded. For Express Funded, the "Express Funded Account Parameters" page answers "Yes, with conditions" to the question about automated strategies, specifying that Topstep doesn't help set them up and doesn't cover outages; it points to the Prohibited Conduct and Prohibited Trading Strategies pages. For the Trading Combine, we found no explicit mention of the API in the pages read: ask support for written confirmation before subscribing an account that matters to you.

In practice: what to know before connecting a bot

• Test on Practice. There is no sandbox: the Practice account offers the same endpoints and real-time hubs.
• API orders are final. Topstep states that orders executed via the API are final: no revision, adjustment or cancellation. A bug in your code remains your problem.
• The personal device rule is strict. Your machine must be the one transmitting the orders. The pages read don't explicitly address cloud-hosted third-party services that send orders from their own servers. The API page does, however, list "Routing or relaying orders on your behalf" among the things a private server can't do: if you plan to use such a service, ask support for a written answer.
• The copier has its own limits. The "Lead" account must have the lowest maximum position size (MPS) in the group. If the Lead hits its daily loss limit or is auto-liquidated, all "Follower" accounts are flattened with it, but remain linked: copying resumes when the Lead can trade again. If the Lead hits its maximum loss limit, the account is permanently violated and it's up to you to unlink the Followers in the settings so you can trade them separately. Turning off the copier mid-trade immediately flattens the Followers, and when a payout request is submitted, the Followers are automatically unlinked.
• Positions must stay intraday. According to the "Express Funded Account Rules" page, all positions must be closed at 3:10 PM Central Time (CT), or at the product's close if that comes earlier. An article on Topstep's official blog states that its risk managers begin flattening positions and canceling pending orders at 3:08 PM CT; your bot must take this into account.

Is there a numerical trade limit?

No official limit on the number of trades per day or on minimum holding time appears in the pages read (which doesn't prove that none exists elsewhere). The page on prohibited strategies only describes simulator abuse as generally involving hundreds or thousands of trades per day, with average durations of a few seconds rather than minutes, and specifies that a few lucky fills won't get a payout rejected: the behaviors targeted are "intentional and systematic". That is not a threshold: it is a description. The terms of use also prohibit "short term or high frequency trades" carried out to manipulate the platform, with no numerical threshold in the passages read, and the Prohibited Conduct page also targets any conduct that Topstep considers non-commercial or liable to distort the market, at its sole discretion. A very active scalping bot therefore remains exposed to the Topstep team's judgment.

The details of each account's rules elsewhere in the market are in our comparison of futures prop firms; to see how another firm handles the topic, read Lucid Trading's rules. If the topic of accounts dedicated to algos interests you, the Firmup survey is here.

Frequently asked questions

Sources read on October 12, 2026: TopstepX API Access · Prohibited Conduct · Prohibited Trading Strategies · TopstepX (trade copier) · Express Funded Account Parameters · Live Funded Account Parameters · Express Funded Account Rules · Topstep blog: trade desk and flattening · Terms of Use

Written by the Firmup team · Information on other prop firms gathered from their official sites in October 2026 and subject to change: always verify current terms before purchasing · Last updated: October 12, 2026